A musical theatre production scheduled to be held at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre was set to play for one show only on April 5.

It didn't get the chance because of the power outages that evening.

Children of God was set to perform its only stop in Yellowknife and with no power for several hours, the decision was made to pull the plug. NACC stated it would be offering refunds to those who had purchased tickets for the show.

Ahead of the show, SA国际影视传媒 got the chance to talk with Corey Payette, director, writer and composer of the production.

He described the show as a look at the indoctrination faced by those who were forced into residential schools.

SA国际影视传媒淚n that indoctrination, there was something so sinister involved,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚t has a sort of double meaning, that if we are all children of God, then how could this possibly have happened? And so, specifically it's really meant to shed light on the hypocrisy of the church and to really recognize that if these horrific histories have taken place, what is the church doing now and what are the communities doing to repair that?SA国际影视传媒� Payette said, adding that the question he wants to leave the audience to ponder is, SA国际影视传媒楬ow do we all move forward?SA国际影视传媒�

When he first started writing the show 15 years ago, Payette said the entire country was in a different place in terms of its acknowledgement and recognition of the residential school history.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd so, I think it's been a really great touch point to see how this story resonates within different communities, because everyone is at a different point in their own reconciliation within their community,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Story of pain and resilience

Children of God is a fictional production set in the 1950s and the 1970s about an Oji-Cree family in Northern Ontario and tells the story of the children, Tom and Julia, who were forced to go to residential school. It delves into the trauma the children suffered while attending the school as well as the resiliency of spirit.

In writing the musical, Payette said to tell the story, he knew he had to be the one to do the research, to meet with various survivors, Elders, and his own family to talk about their history.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of the stories had gone unspoken for generations, and to really start to unearth those wounds, what became very clear to me was that the best way to share some of that pain was through music, through songs,SA国际影视传媒� Payette said of the decision to create a musical production.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou know, in my community, Elders have said you cannot share a story without that story having a song, and without that song having a dance, and that dance telling a story, so it's really a circle.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd so for me, musical theater really supports that - that way of storytelling, because it's able to express emotions that are beyond words.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd that really was what the experience was, having a sense of voicelessness, and in that voicelessness, I think that we can have a deeper understanding of the inner life of these characters through song,SA国际影视传媒� Payette said.

One of his goals in developing the production was to create a space for sharing such stories and having a broader conversation about how the story and the history of residential school resonates in present day.

SA国际影视传媒淚n coming to every different community that we've gone to, the performance is followed by a conversation, and that conversation is about, SA国际影视传媒榃hat can we do in our own personal lives to contribute to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people?SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淏ecause Indigenous people can't carry this alone. We need it to be everyone.SA国际影视传媒�

Creating a safe space

Tanya Snow, program coordinator with Atti! Indigenous Artists Collective, said having such a major production about the residential school topic performed at NACC is like SA国际影视传媒渙pening a door to our communitySA国际影视传媒�.

SA国际影视传媒淲hat we want to do is encourage our community to come and tell their stories, to sing their songs, to do their dance. Because, you know, NACC is on the same lot as a former residential school,SA国际影视传媒� Snow said of the location of the theatre in Yellowknife.

SA国际影视传媒淭here are a lot of folks who are survivors that have so much knowledge to share, and those stories are not going to come out unless we create safe spaces.

SA国际影视传媒淪o having the Children of God production come up here, it's kind of it's encouraging other Indigenous peoples to come and tell their story.SA国际影视传媒�

Supportive environment

Payette said because it is a harsh and intense subject matter, they offer emotional support at the performance.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd I'm welcoming audiences to come in at whatever level they're at, you know, even if they don't know enough and they just want to learn more, or if they've been studying this for the last, you know, 20 or 30 years. I think all of those voices are certainly welcome to be a part of this experience of Children of God.SA国际影视传媒�